


I'll be Coming Right Back to You

by simplewordplay



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Dates, KIND OF I GUESS, M/M, also a lot of blushing thomas, and minho is a sassy ass and i love it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-04-22 12:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4835981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplewordplay/pseuds/simplewordplay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Minho thinks that speed-dating is the dumbest way to find interesting people, let alone getting to know them. So when Newt dragged him to accompany him to attend on, he isn't exactly ecstatic to waste his time. </p><p>But after meeting Thomas, well maybe going hasn't exactly been a waste of time after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll be Coming Right Back to You

**Author's Note:**

> My very first fanfiction for Thominho woot! Thanks so much to [shinichi17cp](http://shinichi17cp.tumblr.com/) for beta-ing the fic. Story idea and title is based off the music video of Boomerang – The Summer Set. Hope you guys enjoy this!

Now first things first, Minho was not, by any means, desperate to be in a relationship. Not in the slightest. After all, in his twenty four years of life, he only had one girlfriend back in eighth grade.  Then again, Minho wasn't even sure that counted as one. Technically, Sonya only asked him to fake date her so she could get her crush jealous of him (a stupid idea, he had thought. But apparently effective). Beside, even at that age Minho was already pretty certain that girls didn’t interest him _that_ way.

Now with that being said, you might wonder: Why exactly was he joining all this speed dating craziness?

The answer to that? Well… Minho wasn't exactly sure himself. One moment, he was just hanging out with the not-so-recently-going-through-a-break-up Newt, and the next thing he knew he was being dragged to accompany said guy to this whole event. Which, now that Minho really thought about it, was rather pointless - You're supposed to find company here, not _bring_ one. Then again, it was a little too late by the time he realized that.

It was kind of amusing though, the amount of people who were interested in doing this whole speed-dating thing. He had thought less than ten people would show up, but instead, as he walked in with Newt, he noticed there were quite a lot of guys participating - and _damn_ weren’t they all attractive. Then again, he figured maybe they were all just here for the drinks. After all, who in their right mind would ever refuse free drinks? Not Minho, that's for sure.

"Newt!"

Hearing his friend’s name being called, Minho couldn't help himself but turn as well. A girl with pale skin and dark long hair was walking towards them, a huge grin plastered on her face. Newt, Minho noticed, had a matching grin as well and waved. "Hey." he greeted her rather enthusiastically. They both shared a hug and made small talks, which only confirmed Minho's suspicion that Newt actually did know the girl. And he got to admit, it did irk him a little.

He had half his mind to turn away and venture around, or maybe interrupt the chitchat, when the dark haired girl glanced at him and smiled. "I see you're bringing someone with you." She nudged Newt teasingly. "That kind of defeats the purpose of being here, now, doesn't it?" 

Minho snorted in response before Newt could even say anything in defense. "Believe me, I tried telling him that but you know how hard it is to get things through that thick skull of his." 

A hint of a smirk made its way to her lips as she let out a chuckle. "I'm Teresa," she introduced herself, "I'm kind of helping take care of this whole thing."

"The name's Minho," he said with a nod. "I'm kind of here for the drinks."

" _And_ finding a date." Newt said, rather pointedly.

Minho rolled his eyes "More like forced to." he mumbled under his breath. But apparently it was loud enough for the girl and Newt to hear. Teresa only laughed and wrote something on her clipboard. Newt though, wasn’t so pleased with his answer because the man jabbed him on the ribs. "Hey," he protested, rubbing the sore spot. _Damn_ , the guy had sharp elbows. "It's true!"

"You won't regret it." Teresa promised. Minho shrugged. _Highly doubt that_ , was what he wanted to say, but he kept his thought to himself. He figured that was something he could do to at least appreciate her work. Besides, Newt might or might not actually kick his ass if he said any more things less than enthusiastic about this speed dating thing. Or at least, try to. Minho was usually the one who's in charge of ass kicking, so naturally he's pretty unbeatable himself.

She led them to their tables. The first one was Newt’s, who was seated with a ginger-haired man. He wanted to stay and watch their interaction but he didn't see much aside from shared smiles before he was being ushered to his table that was currently empty. Teresa sighed. "Great," she muttered as Minho took a seat "Where did he go."

Minho couldn't help but give the girl a look. ”So do you actually know everyone here?" he asked, not even bothering to cover his amusement. "Because if you do, then you're one hell of a matchmaker."

Teresa hummed in respond before letting out a small chuckle. "No, definitely not." she replied as she shook her head. "It's just that your first date," she pointed at the empty chair "Happens to be my brother."

“Right, sure. Because playing matchmaking for your brother isn’t as bad.”

Teresa snorted, but didn't say anything else. Instead she looked around, searching through the crowd. "There you are," she finally said, making Minho turn to see who this brother she was talking about was. A dark brown haired guy, probably a little bit shorter than Minho, was walking towards them. "Where have you been?" Teresa didn’t even wait for her brother’s response before she added "I told you not to wander around.”

"Teresa, seriously, you don’t have to mother me. I'm twenty, not twelve." the guy quipped with a slight frown on his face and Minho had to hold himself not to let out a snort at this banter. “Besides, I was just going to the toilet.” 

At his response, Teresa squinted her eyes suspiciously. “There isn’t going to be another _incident_ right, Bladder Boy?”

Minho blurted out a laugh, which he managed to cover as a cough, and amusingly it worked pretty well. Because while the girl was glancing at him, seemingly pleased that she managed to mention the nickname, the brunet man didn’t seem to notice his presence. Judging by his beet red face, he was probably too embarrassed to notice anything else aside from his sister. “Teresa!”

Said girl merely raised her arms in surrender. “Hey, just wondering if I’m gonna get in trouble because of your –” 

“It was only _one_ time!"

Teresa simply smirked and pointed at the empty seat. She glanced at her watch, and added “We’ll probably start in a couple of minutes, so hang on tight boys.” She gave her brother a wink, earning her a groan, before leaving Minho alone with the guy. 

“So you saw all that,” the boy stated when he turned to face him, as if he just realized Minho had been there all along. The older boy snorted in response, which only made him blush slightly. “That doesn’t usually happen,” he said quickly and Minho couldn’t help but notice how awkward the boy must be feeling. Minho had to admit though, it was actually kind of… endearing.

“It’s cool,” Minho replied with a shrug. “Besides, I enjoy a good ol' sibling bickering.” 

The boy laughed and shook his head. “Well, sorry to disappoint, but that’s probably the only one you’ll see tonight.” 

Minho had opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off. “Hello everyone!” 

Minho winced slightly at the loud voice blaring across the room. He turned in his seat slightly to get a better view of the man talking, a lanky figure who was grinning with a mic in hand. With his crooked teeth, sharp nose, and small squinty eyes, the man kind of resembled to a rat, if you ask him, which made him snicker. It was mostly inaudible for the rest, but apparently loud enough for the boy across him to glance, an eyebrow shot up before turning his gaze back to the talking announcer. “I wish you all a good evening and a warm welcome. Now, first of all, I want to thank the management of Grand Hotel for providing such an amazing venue for the event…” And after that, Minho just kind of tuned him out. Nothing important was being said anyways, aside from the oh-so-important introductory words and welcomes. All was said for the sake of formality, and it would be great if it they got over it, fast.

Minho spent the next few minutes jiggling his legs and tapping his foot impatiently. He noticed it kind of shook the table he was sitting at but really, Minho didn’t really care. And his date didn’t seem to notice. Or at least if he did, he decided not to say anything. Meanwhile, the man who had introduced himself as Mr. Janson was explaining the rules. Which, to Minho, was kind of pointless. It was pretty clear from the words speed-date itself that what they have to do is basically trying to do the impossible: get to know a guy in less than two minutes, run around like a crazed chicken to get to the next table when times up, and repeat. Rather a stupid way to ‘find love’ if you ask him.  Not that he’d say it out loud right now, seeing as he was one of the idiots who was going to do it. 

Once he was over with the rules, he finally – finally – declared that the event had started. Everyone clapped for the guy, except for Minho. Surprisingly enough, Minho noticed that his date didn’t either and instead turned back to him with a sigh and murmured under his breath, “I never really liked that guy.” By now, Minho should have seen it coming. It seemed like everybody here just knows everyone. Well, everyone except him. Yet, he still found himself shooting a questioning look to the other man. He must had gotten the unspoken question, because he then added, “Janson is my uncle, from my dad’s side.” Minho frowned, glancing at the older man, and back at his date. How come someone so attractive can be related to that man, he couldn’t help but wonder.

“Um… Why are you smirking?” 

“Nothing,” Minho said quickly. “I'm just wondering who it is I’m actually going on a date with.” This only confused the boy even further, which only made Minho snicker. It was actually baffling how clueless this guy really was, if not a little exasperating. “I mean think about it,” Minho continued, “I know your sister’s name and your uncle’s name. But I’m pretty sure I don’t know your name.” 

A beat of silence passed as Minho watched his date blink and really think about his words. Then, as realization sunk in, he groaned. “I haven’t introduced myself, have I?”

“Nope,” Minho replied, popping the p. “But then again,” he gave the boy a smug smile, “I can always call you Bladder Boy. I’m cool with that”

The boy groaned even louder, which made Minho grin even wider. God he was so enjoying this. “Please don’t,” he said before sighing. Then he said under his breath, “Dammit Teresa, out of all the times she could have mentioned that.”

This time, Minho didn’t even bother to hold himself. He let out a roar of laughter, loud enough for a few people at the surrounding tables to stare and for his date to look down to hide his reddening cheeks. “Oh shit, there’s a real story behind that?” He was grinning so wide, he was pretty certain he looked creepy. “You got to tell me that.”

“Nu-uh, not a chance,” the boy said, shaking his head furiously. “Not today on the first date.” Minho pouted his lips in attempt to give him the puppy eyes. But instead of complying, his date laughed. “That won't work on me, sorry pal,” he teased, causing Minho to roll his eyes. Though he was still smiling nonetheless. “I’m Thomas, by the way.” 

Surprisingly enough, Minho actually felt a rush of excitement when he heard the boy’s name. Not that he actually showed it. After all if there was one thing he was good at, it’d be maintaining his cool. “The name’s Minho,” he said, nodding his head. “So Thomas, what exactly do you do during the day, when you are not forced into a rush date by your sister.”

“It’s speed-date,” Thomas corrected him, but Minho merely waved his hand dismissively. He then replied, “But well, I’m a pizza delivery man when I’m not off studying to be a neurophysiologist.” 

Minho whistled, impressed by the guy already. Well, he guessed that was how he knows they’re off with a good start. “Dude, that’s really cool.” he told the younger man. Despite the sheepish smile and the humble shrug, Minho could still see that Thomas was proud of what he was doing.

“What ‘bout you?” Thomas asked, “What do you do?”

“I’m an artist,” he replied. Thomas’ eyes widened, clearly he was surprised by his answer. Minho actually got that reaction a lot. His body is actually so built that people would usually guess he was either an athlete, actor, or still in the police academy. Not that he minded. It was actually kind of hilarious to see. “Parents are a bit annoyed about my choice of career. Apparently they expected me to do something big, like finding the cure for cancer or something.”

The brunet let out a chuckle. “No offense, but I don’t think you look like the kind of guy who’d stand being in the lab all day,” he teased. Minho snorted, though not admitting that Thomas’ guess wasn’t far from wrong. Then, Thomas’ playful smile turned more genuine as he continued, “But seriously, it’s cool that you’re still doing what you like despite that.” This time Minho merely shrugged. He didn’t mention about how he rarely spoke to his parents now because of his ‘poor life choice’. Then again, that wasn’t exactly something to be discussed about in the middle of a first date. “So what kind of art do you usually do?" 

Minho answered the question, telling his date about the paintings and sketches he had made, and his current pottery project he was trying out. Thomas seemed to be totally interested, listening to Minho’s story and nodding occasionally and throwing in a few comments. Then the conversation just started to flow for them. They talked about some of their favorite artists, and what they usually did on a lazy day. Thomas asked what Minho did as a hobby, and the boy started listing a couple of them. “I mean I like Netflix and sofa on lazy weekends.”

Thomas let out a chuckle. “Everyone does,” he said matter-of-factly.

“True,” Minho said with a nod. “I also like sports though, I mean sometimes play baseball and football with a couple of friends. I like running the best though. Was on the track team back in High School”

This seemed to catch Thomas interest, because a grin stretched across his lips when he heard the word running. “That’s cool, I actually do that too,” he said with a nod. “I signed myself up for marathons all the time actually.”

_No way,_ Minho thought. Because that would mean there was actually a chance that they could have met somewhere and sometime before that day. Yet, here they were, meeting at a speed date event. Weird how the world works. Minho was about to ask more questions when the bell rang.  Great. It was just his luck that time was up just when things were getting interesting. He didn't move, wanting to spend a bit more time with Thomas. Even when he could see another man was walking towards their table from the corner of his eyes, he still remained in his seat. The stranger frowned at the sight. "Move man, this is my seat."  

Minho rolled his eyes. He shook his head and crossed his arms across his chest. "We're still talking." he said, glaring at the other man.

The man seemed to be taken aback by his response, but recovered pretty quickly. Soon his confusion was replaced by an annoyed frown. "That's not how a freaking speed date works you dumb ass." he exclaimed loudly.

Minho opened his mouth to blurt out another snarky remark when another voice spoke up. "What's going on here, gentlemen?"

All heads turned to see Janson, who was now standing by the table. "This guy refuses to move," the intruder practically whined, which only caused Minho to roll his eyes.

For a moment all the politeness dropped, his brows were furrowed together. But just as quickly, he turned his gaze to Minho and smiled politely, if not a little forced. "Sir, your time is up," he said slowly, as if trying to explain things to an eight years old, "You have to move to the other table, that's how the procedure works."

"But-" Janson gave him a stern look. Minho glanced at Thomas, who smiled and shrugged lightly. Clearly, he knew the rules better than Minho. Finally, the dark haired man sighed. "Fine."

Minho stood up and started walking over to his next seat. Stupid rule, he thought to himself. It was irritating that he couldn't spend more time with Thomas, and to think they were starting to click. Granted, it wasn't like the two couldn't meet up after the whole thing or anything. But really, he thought it was so stupid that he has to wait and waste more time with less interesting guys around the room when he found the best date already.

By the time he reached his table, he took another glance at Thomas, who was now in conversation with that jerk. He exhaled and turned his attention to his next date. "Hey I'm Chuck," greeted the man- or well, the boy. With that chubby face and childish grin going on, he wasn't even sure if the guy was twenty.

Minho raised an eyebrow. "Do your parents know you're here?"

Chuck rolled his eyes. "I'm nineteen," he pointed out, rather proudly. "I don't need anyone's approval to be here. Especially _not_ my parents’."

"You sure?" Minho teased mockingly. "Momma won't worry that you're missing dinner?"

Chuck frowned, and shook his head. "You're really rude." The smallest smirk made its way to Minho's lips as he shrugged. Denying it would be a lie, kind of. After all, he couldn't even count the amount of people who got offended by his sarcasm anymore. Then again that's really not his problem, it was theirs for being so sensitive. "I mean I know you're all smitten with that guy over there. But sheesh man –"

Minho swore he almost choked on his own spit. "Whoa, whoa, now hold on kid," Minho quickly argued, "First of all, I am _not_ smitten. I was just trying to spend more time with that kid."

"Don't see much difference," Chuck interjected. Minho shot him a dirty look, but the boy across from him only shrugged. "Just saying."

"Second of all," Minho continued sharply. "I'm pretty sure it's none of your business." 

Chuck hummed. "Right," he said slowly, "I'm pretty sure everyone said that when they try to deny something that's actually true."

Minho pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "You're a little shit.” This time it was Chuck who merely shrugged. Minho found himself laughing, guess this is what they called Karma. “You know what, I guess you’re not so bad.”

The boy stared at him for a moment, before finally a grin spread across his face. “You think so?” he asked. Gone was the sarcasm, replaced by genuine surprise and excitement in his voice. Minho couldn’t stop the small chuckle from coming out, the corner of his lips curled up slightly as he nodded. “Well, I guess you’re not too bad yourself,” Chuck admitted. “Except for the fact that you’re late for the date.”

Minho snorted, amused that the kid won’t let go of the matter. At the exact same time, the bell rang. Time to move. “Whatever you say, kid.” Minho said as he stood up, “I’ll be seeing you around, I guess.” He flashed the young boy one last smile before walking away from the table.

Minho’s next date was a dark skinned man with a sick beard and his hair covered in a cap. Who the fuck wears a cap to this kind of event, Minho couldn’t help but wonder, until he sat down on his seat and finally just gave up figuring it out. “‘Sup?” Minho nodded, “The name’s Minho.”

“I’m Frypan.” At first, Minho simply blinked, an eyebrow raised at the weird name. “That’s my nickname,” the man added, as if that was supposed to make it sound any less weird. Which it didn’t if you asked Minho. He didn’t get the chance to say it out loud though because the other man continued. “My real name’s Siggy, short for Sigmund.”

Minho didn’t even stop himself from snorting. He got the feeling this particular date was going to be bizarre. “Damn dude, your parents must hate you very much since they gave you that name.”

The other man’s brow scrunched together. He heaved a sigh and murmured under his breath, something Minho couldn’t quite catch. “Go.”

The word raised a question in Minho’s mind, was this guy seriously that upset because of what he said that he wanted him to go away? “Whoa dude, chill.” he said, raising his hands in surrender. “I was just kidding.” 

To Minho’s confusion, the guy rolled his eyes. As if the guy was really exasperated just from their extremely brief conversation. “I mean, go get your man.”

What the fuck… Minho had thought at first, until it hit him who his date was referring to. “Who – What –?” he was so taken aback that he couldn’t seem to form a coherent response. And when he finally did, all he said was “You mean Thomas?”

Frypan simply shrugged, though he had a goddamn grin and that mischief in his eyes that got Minho thinking that he was actually enjoying his reaction. Why do all these people enjoy being a little shit? “Dunno his name man,” he pointed out. “Not that it really matters. What matter is that you talking to me is completely pointless if that brilliant mind of yours keeps on wondering about him.”

He guessed the man was true, Minho would totally be lying if he argued or denied what Frypan said. After all, he hadn’t exactly stopped thinking about Thomas. Not to mention that everything in his speed date experience so far had only revolved around Thomas. Not that he really minded of course. Heck, he was actually itching to get back to the first table he visited. His feet jiggling under the table absently, nothing he wanted more than to run back to Thomas. Not that he would admit it out loud, he wasn’t going to give Frypan all of the satisfaction. So instead he scoffed. “He’s not my man.” The other boy raised an eyebrow, as if waiting for a yet to follow Minho’s statement. “I just enjoy talking to the guy, that’s all.”

The dark skinned man rolled his eyes. “Same difference,” he said dismissively. “Now, just hurry and go, dammit.” Before Minho could argue even further, Frypan took out a pair of earphones. Minho stared as he put them on, baffled at this whole situation. Frypan seemed to notice that Minho hadn’t moved an inch and ended up shooing him away. 

That was all it took for Minho to stand up. He murmured a thank you, one he assumed the other man couldn’t hear since he said it so lowly and the earphones might have blocked out the sound. Though he noticed the small twitch at the corner of Frypan’s lips, a smile, and Minho got the feeling that maybe he did acknowledge it after all. He turned and started to walk away from his appointed table, heads turned as he strode confidently to the table Thomas was sitting at. As he neared, he could hear that the brunet’s current date was practically bragging about the ‘architectural masterpiece’ he’s going to work on very, very soon. Though Thomas wasn’t really listening anymore, as he was staring at him, eyes wide in surprise. “Minho,” he asked in a slight whisper for some reason, sounding taken aback, “What are you doing?”

“My date got busy.” he said nonchalantly and gestured at the table Frypan was sitting at. He looked around, grinning when he found an empty seat nearby and pulled it closer, so he could sit and join the couple. “So, what did you and Eyebrows here were talking about?”

The smallest smile made its way to Thomas’ lips. Though judging by the cold glare, his date didn’t seem to like the nickname Minho just gave him all that much. Both guys opened their mouths to respond. “What are you doing here?”

The question, however, didn’t belong to any of them. All three heads looked up to find Janson standing right next to Minho, judging from the way his mouth twisted he clearly wasn’t pleased.  Despite the sour look however, Minho found himself grinning. “Oh hey Janson, care to join the party?”

Janson sighed. “C’mon, get up and leave these gentlemen alone, please.”

Minho was ready with a snarky comeback, but someone kicked him under the table – Thomas. He glanced at the brunet, who was shaking his head. It was clear what he was trying to say. _Don’t_. Sighing in defeat, Minho muttered a fine. As he got up, Janson was apologizing at Thomas and his date – whose name was Gally, apparently. Thomas wasn’t exactly listening though, Minho could tell because he kept on casting glances at him. Minho smiled and mouthed silently, _I’ll be back_. The only response he got was a tiny smirk on Thomas’ face and the subtle nod. But that was more than enough for Minho. 

“Come along now Mr. Park,” Janson addressed Minho suddenly, as he whisked him away from the table and to his assigned one. “I don’t appreciate you causing so much trouble around here Mr. Park.” Minho heard Janson said along the way, gone was all the politeness that he had shown moments earlier. He couldn’t help but snort at the words though. Clearly he didn’t know that trouble and he are pretty much inseparable. “Are you thinking that I’m just joking?”

“Oh no,” Minho said mockingly. “I can’t imagine how serious you are, considering how easy it is to get your panties in a twist.”

That earned him a glare from Janson, his nostrils flaring in anger. Minho was unfazed though and returned the hard look. “You cause one more trouble,” the older man said lowly, “And I swear to God, I’m going to get you kicked out of this place.” It was meant to be terrifying, yet Minho just smirked and shrugged nonchalantly. He couldn’t care less about the threat to be honest. It was probably just a bluff, nothing more than an empty threat. It wouldn’t change the fact that he was still going to try and find a way to spend the rest of the night with Thomas.

Once Minho was seated back at his appointed table, Janson’s demeanor had changed completely. He started apologizing to Frypan for the inconvenience and wouldn’t leave until Frypan told him that it was fine for the fifth time. Minho didn’t miss the glare the man was giving him as he walked away, and neither did Frypan, who found all of this rather hilarious. “He _definitely_ loves you, alright,” he said in between laughter. “But hey, at least it was worth it.”

Now that, Minho could totally agree on.

Once the bell finally rang, Frypan wished him a good luck, to which Minho grinned and nodded in response before he stood up to leave. He got half his mind made up to go to Thomas’ table once more, but apparently Janson wasn’t kidding when he said he’d be keeping a close eye on him. Sighing, Minho went to his assigned table instead. Though spotting his next date, he couldn’t help but laugh. “No way am I gonna flirt with you, English.”

As he took a seat, Minho noticed the frown on the other man’s face. Clearly he was more unhappy about this arrangement than he was. Or maybe it was the nickname that irked him, Minho honestly couldn’t tell which. “You think I do?”

“Um, yes.” Minho’s answer made it sound like the question itself shouldn’t even be a question. “I mean, who wouldn’t want a little taste of Minho.”

Shaking his head at the words, Newt pinched the bridge of his nose and heaved a sigh. “You’re a bloody arse,” he grumbled. “Tell me again why I’m even friends with you.” A smug grin was plastered on Minho’s lips as he crossed his arms on his chest and stuck his tongue out. Newt didn’t seem to be annoyed by it as he usually was though, as he continued. “I told Teresa not to set me up with you. Apparently that’s out of her control.”

Minho gave his best friend a shrug. “File a complaint then. You won’t be the only one.”

A snort escaped the blond’s lips as he smirked. “Yeah well, considering the havoc you caused, I wouldn’t be too surprised.”

“No, technically it’s your fault for dragging me here,” Minho pointed out matter-of-factly. Newt rolled his eyes and started saying something about behaving, but by then the dark haired boy was too occupied with checking how Thomas was doing. He was now talking to a dark-skinned man, and so far the date looked like it was going okay. Just okay. He averted his attention to Janson, who was talking to Teresa, seemingly too distracted to notice if Minho tried to sneak to Thomas’ table this time.

“Um, hello? Earth to Minho?”

“I’m going there for a bit.” He turned to look at a gaping Newt, clearly bewildered at the his decision. “Cover me for a bit, will you?” The blond didn’t even had a chance to protest because Minho just stood up and left his friend.

This time the brunet noticed him long before he reached the table. The corner of his lips turned up into a coy smile. Meanwhile his date turned and stared at Minho with an eyebrow shot up. “Looking for someone?” he asked, though from the sound of it, it was obvious that the man knew what Minho was really doing there. 

Yet Minho shrugged and replied. “I’m looking for him.” He gave Thomas a wink, grinning to himself when he saw the other boy’s cheeks were reddening slightly as he shook his head in amusement. “But more importantly, you see that guy right there?” Minho pointed at Newt, who sat alone away from them, and yet was still shooting him an unamused look. Minho simply grinned cheekily, waving at his friend who rolled his eyes, before turning his attention back to the stranger. “Ignore the frown though, he’s actually a great lad. So what do you say, maybe keep him company for a bit?”

The man studied Minho for a moment, scanning him from head to toe before finally nodding. “You owe me one.” 

Minho pumped his fist as the stranger stood up and left, sliding to the now empty seat with a huge grin plastered on his face. “Told ya I’ll be back.”

Thomas rolled his eyes, though a smile was still plastered at his face. “Anyone ever told you that you’re crazy?”

Now that wasn’t exactly what you’re aiming for on the first date, Minho knew that very well. But the way Thomas said it made it sound like being crazy was the best thing to be, so he guessed that wasn’t such a bad thing. “If you’re hoping to be the first one to say that, you’re out of luck then.”

“Why am I not surprise.” Minho merely shrugged, a huge smile on his face as if that was the biggest accomplishment he was so proud of. “But seriously.” Thomas said, shaking his head, “Your dedication is actually flattering, if not a bit over the top.”

“Glad to know you enjoy watching your uncle trying to kick my ass out the door,” Minho joked, to which Thomas rolled his eyes at. “But really, what can I say? Grand gestures are kind of my thing.” 

“One hell of a spotlight you got there, Romeo.”

The nickname caught Minho’s attention, and he swore it took everything in him not to smile like a mad man. He met Thomas’ gaze, an eyebrow shot up. “Romeo, eh?” he questioned, trying to not let on how ecstatic he was really feeling. “Would that mean you’ll be my Juliet?”

Thomas looked down and let out a chuckle at the question, shaking his head slightly. Though when he looked up, his smile faltered. The joy he had felt before was replaced by worry. For a moment, Minho thought it might have been something he did. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s coming.” was all Thomas said. And that was enough for Minho to know he was pretty much fucked in three… two… one…

“You are not supposed to be here.”

Minho turned, facing an annoyed – no, extremely pissed – Janson. “How many times do I have to tell you, stick with your assigned date.”

“Technically you never mentioned that to me.”

If Janson wasn’t fuming before, he definitely was now. Not that he really showed it, with all the other participants staring, he needed to keep his temper under control. Still, it was actually quite amazing to Minho how much self-control he had. “Up, now.” he said evenly. 

The dark haired man heaved a sigh. “Look man, just give me a moment with Thomas,” he argued. “We’re actually having a good time here, so –”

“Well I don’t care,” Janson snapped. “You’ve caused too much trouble, ruining the whole procedure and it’s making the other guests uncomfortable. So I suggest you stand up and leave now, before I call the security of this place.”

Any normal human being would probably shut up and comply, avoid causing even more commotion. Not Minho though. No way was he going to back up now that he and Thomas were really enjoying themselves. Not when he just wanted to spend the rest of the night with the man seated in front of him – or maybe even more, if the guy was interested. So instead, he crossed his arms and smirked. “Make me.”

That, apparently, happened to be the worst idea he had that evening. Because Janson managed to grab him, pulled him up and started dragging him away. With most of the people in the room watching this little interaction. “Hey!” Minho tried to shrug off the other man, but surprisingly the older man’s grip was strong. Finally, after a few more struggling Minho groaned. “Fine I’ll leave!” That did the trick, because as soon as the words were said Janson loosen his grip, enough for Minho to yank his arm away. He threw Janson a dirty look one last time, before finally walking out of the room, holding his head high as he ignored all the eyes that followed him out.

 

Newt texted him not long after his biggest incident of the night. The first few were filled with strings of curse words and rants about how Minho is the most bloody idiot he’d ever met for not being able to shut his hole. And the last one, was a request for him to stay at the hotel lobby and wait till he was over so they could go home together. Reading them all made Minho roll his eyes, but at the end of the day he still agreed. _I'll be at the bar,_ he had texted back. 

_Don't do anything stupid_.

_We'll see about that ;)_

_Bloody hell, you’re impossible…_

Minho put his phone away, just when the bartender slid him the glass of beer he ordered. Without waiting for another moment, he downed half of the drink and set the glass down, ignoring the fact that she was watching him. "Rough night?" 

"Depends." The man gave her a nonchalant shrug. He was smirking, though the usual glint in his eyes were absent. "Does getting kicked out of a speed-date for trying to spend more time with someone awesome that you met counts?”

The young woman tried to hide it, but Minho could tell she was flinching. "Sorry to hear that dude," she said sympathetically. Minho gave her a half-hearted smile. There was a silence as he took another swig of his drink, once again avoiding the girl's pity stare. "Tell you what," she suddenly said, catching Minho's attention. The dark haired man looked up, confusion written over his face when he saw a wide grin spread across the girl's face, like she had just been struck with a great idea. "I'll get you something nice.”

Minho blinked a few times and frowned. "A pity drink," he blurted out before he could stop himself. “Really?”

The bartender merely shrugged. "More like a pick-me-up drink, but if you say so." She smirked before she turned to pour him a glass.

Minho watched her. Normally, Minho would probably defend himself, saying he didn’t need any pity treatment. But since it was a free drink, well, he guessed he could make an exception. “Your boss won’t like fire you or anything right? Mean, I don’t exactly want you to get kicked out of your fancy job just because of me.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “Relax. My boss owed me something anyways, so this could make things even.” She slid the glass towards Minho, who picked it up and examined his drink. Scotch. Most definitely scotch. “Besides, Jorge would probably get all frustrated if I don’t try to give a special treat for someone as hot as you.”

At that, the boy looked up at the girl who was now leaning against the bar that separated the two of them, and let out a laugh. “That’s sweet of you,” he mused aloud, the tiniest smirk made its way to his lips. “Unfortunately for you, I play for the other team.”

“Damn,” the girl said under her breath, though she didn’t look too disappointed. In fact she was grinning. “Guess I’m just not lucky this time, huh?” Minho rolled his eyes, before taking a sip of his scotch. God, he hadn’t drank this in a long time, he forgot how good and smooth it actually is. “I’m Brenda by the way.”

The guy nodded. “I’m Minho.”

“Well then Minho,” Brenda stood straight, her smile screamed mischief for some reason. “I’ll be over there if you need me.” She gestured at the other side of the bar, and Minho simply nodded before taking another sip. She was just about to turn, but stopped suddenly. “Oh by the way, a cute guy’s walking this way from 10 o’clock.” When the man raised a brow she merely shrugged. “Who knows, maybe _you’re_ the one who’s lucky.” 

She winked before leaving, not responding to Minho’s snort. Considering how he got dragged to this whole event, skeptic about the whole thing, and got kicked out because he was proven wrong and could find someone interesting, he really didn’t think his luck would turn better any sooner.

“You look a little lonely.”

Minho almost choked on his drink, not expecting to hear that voice. He turned his head, not even sure if he had been imagining it in his head. But yet there he was, standing right beside him with the tiniest smirk plastered on his face. “Mind if I join?”

“Thomas,” he dumbly stated the obvious, before kicking himself mentally. _Of course_ that was Thomas, who else would it be? He cleared his throat in attempt to regain his composure, before nodding. “Go ahead. You really think I’d say no after _that_.”

Thomas chuckled and shook his head and took a seat beside Minho. “It was definitely something,” he mused aloud. “Never seen my uncle lost all his cool in the middle of a huge crowd like that.”

The older man scoffed. “Like he had any cool to begin with.” Thomas merely shrugged, though it seemed like he agreed. “What are you doing here anyway?” Minho then asked. “Isn’t the stupid date still happening?”

“Yeah.” A coy smile appeared on Thomas lips. “Well, maybe I decided to spend a bit more time with you.” Despite how happy he was to hear Thomas’ reply, Minho raised an eyebrow. The younger man shrugged lightly. “I mean you _did_ claim to be real good at grand gesture, who knows? It would be pretty amusing to stick around and see more of it for myself.”

Minho grinned. “So you _do_ want to be my Juliet, eh?” Minho asked, sipping his drink.

“Depends.” Thomas replied. “Does that mean I have to wear a corset?”

For the second time in less than ten minutes, Minho almost choked on his drink. He couldn’t keep himself from laughing, _hard_. Thomas groaned and face-palmed himself. “First date, and I’m already embarrassing myself.”

It took a moment for Minho to calm down from his laughter. “At least now we’re even.” Minho shrugged. “So what’s your answer?”

Thomas was actually blushing when he said it, and Minho swore it was still the most endearing sight he had seen. “You could say that,” Thomas finally said slowly, though after a beat of silence, he quickly added. “As long as there are no corset discussions involved. And none of those dying bullshit in the end.”

“You got yourself a deal then.” Now that Minho thought about it, maybe getting kicked out wasn’t such a bad thing after all. “So, whatcha wanna drink?”


End file.
